Elevator Love Letter
by hbomba
Summary: Bad luck conspires with worse timing against Bo on New Year's Eve when she surprises Lauren with a gift.


Title: Elevator Love Letter

Authors: hbomba & lonejaguar

Rating: M

Summary: Bad luck conspires with worse timing against Bo on New Year's Eve when she surprises Lauren with a gift.

* * *

"Do you want to give a special gift in the New Year to someone you love? Then let him or her realize this: We are the main shepherd of our fate, we are the main designer of our destiny!" | Mehmet Murat ildan

* * *

It had started snowing again. Bo pulled out onto the street and stopped at the intersection, watching the red light above her. A small crowd of teenagers passed in front of her car, she smiled at one of them who was rewarded with a few shoves from his friends as they stumbled onto the sidewalk and continued on their way. Christmas was the week before, but the annual sales stretched until New Year's as they always did. Wreaths and bows still adorned the street lights, storefronts promised never-before-seen buys, and restaurants declared their location the place to be for that evening's New Year's Eve celebrations.

When the light turned green, Bo accelerated through the intersection, the old Camaro's tires squishing through the slush on the road. It wasn't far now. She had been living with Lauren since she burned down her crack shack at the end of the summer and life was good. Especially in the beginning. Lauren had taken time off work to help Bo get settled in. Bo couldn't figure out why because everything that Bo owned now fit into a make-up bag so there wasn't much to settle. But if by settle she meant she would be available to calm Bo's fears about the future with her body, expertly and often, then Bo was as snug as a bug in a rug. Of course when the time came for Lauren to go back to work, Bo went through a whole other set of withdrawal symptoms.

If sex was food for the succubus, then love was a controlled substance. It was something she could starve herself for because its rush was enough to sustain her. And she did regularly abstain from feeding when the aches and pains of combat weren't plaguing her. Today, however, she had been badly beaten and was bleeding from a gash across her back. It didn't matter who he was, it was over soon enough and Bo was better for it. She had learned to detach sex from love long ago but she was often confused by how intertwined the two were when she was with Lauren.

Sometimes it felt like her heart was breaking as Lauren's gentle touch glided over her skin and she was mended completely by Lauren's eager kiss a moment later. To be loved so thoroughly was a privilege that Bo didn't take lightly. She was young, and despite her Fae, Bo felt lifetimes younger than Lauren. She had seen and done so much and above all, she _knew_ so much that Bo had a lot of catching up to do.

That's where these came in.

Bo looked down at the pair of tickets in her hand. She had been to Hell and back-literally-and still arranging this favor was the most difficult accomplishment of Bo's very long year.

It was a surprise- _a good surprise_. She slipped them back in the envelope and smiled to herself, a little too proud to have seen it through. The elevator doors stuttered open and she walked confidently down the hallway to Lauren's apartment. Their apartment, sort of. Bo still felt like she was on a really long sleepover. That there was some nebulous idea of a home she had somewhere else but she couldn't say why. Probably repressed grief for burning up everything and nearly everyone she loved. Her set up had been clever, but her luck had been impeccable. If Bruce didn't show up or got the message too late... It was too much to think about. Needless to say, she was hyper-aware of what she had done each and every day since.

She looked at the elaborate yet tasteful pattern on the carpet in front of their home and pushed the envelope into her jacket pocket. Unlocking the door, Bo pushed inside silently. She could hear Lauren on the phone in the other room talking about a patient's progress at the clinic. Bo shrugged out of her leather jacket and threw it over the back of the couch, heading into the kitchen. She took a glass from the cabinet and set it on the counter as she reached inside the refrigerator. Pouring orange juice into her glass, Bo hopped onto the counter and waited to be told to get down. She smiled. Pushing Lauren's buttons was prerequisite and living with her just made it easier.

Lauren took three steps into the living area before she paused, cocking her head to the side and pointing at her. "Bo… the counter." She frowned.

Bo set her orange juice down and smiled as she hopped off the counter. "Trouble at the clinic?" She asked, referring to the tone of Lauren's phone call.

"Oh," she exhaled. "No, it's nothing." She smiled. "Where have you been?" Her hips swayed as she walked toward Bo and it had the desired effect on her.

"I had an errand," she said casually, squeezing Lauren's waist as she arrived in front of her.

Lauren frowned. "For who? You haven't had a job in weeks."

"Gee, thanks," Bo scoffed. She looked away.

"Bo-" She lifted Bo's chin. "I didn't mean anything by that."

Truth was Bo had been floundering since dispatching her father back to Hell. The colony was calmer, quieter and the jobs were few and far between. Lauren had been supporting them as Bo tried to find her calling again. "I picked something up."

"Congrats," Lauren said enthusiastically and kissed her. "We should celebrate."

"It's New Year's Eve."

"So," Lauren continued, kissing her neck. "Have we ever been on time for anything?"

"We could at least try…" Bo squeezed her arms.

"Maybe next year," Lauren said, smiling at her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Bo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lauren pulled away. "Are you?"

Bo smiled uncomfortably. "Can we just sit down for a minute?" She pointed to the sofa. Looking at her oddly, Lauren relented and walked to the sofa and sat down. "Close your eyes," Bo said with a smile. Digging into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled the envelope out and put it in Lauren's hands. "Open up."

"What's this?" Her smile was nervous.

Bo nodded to the envelope. "Open it."

Reaching into the envelope, Lauren withdrew two tickets. "Bo…" she said, reading the destination. "How did you?"

"I just thought it was time for an adventure of our own. Away from here."

She smiled and all of Bo's nerves disappeared. "It's wonderful."

"Good. We leave tonight."

It was as if Lauren was caught in a spotlight on stage. "Bo," she said with an apologetic smile. "I have to go back to work."

"You're on vacation."

"Yeah, for the holidays," she defended.

Bo shrugged. "So extend it. This is important."

"Bo…"

"C'mon," she whined. "You're the boss. You gotta abuse that power sometimes."

Lauren thought about it for longer than made Bo comfortable and then a smile spread across her face, highlighting her beauty more fully. "Okay." She nodded. "Let's go to Bali."

* * *

They made love amongst the suitcases and clothes scattered on the bed. It was a quick and carefree and Bo was giddy and breathless when it was over, the rise and fall of Lauren's breast the metronome by which her happiness was evident.

Lauren lifted her head from Bo's chest. "I can't believe it's New Year's Eve."

"Thank God. This year can't end soon enough."

Her fingers drummed on the skin between Bo's breasts. "It wasn't all bad, was it?"

"Not all bad." She smiled down at her.

"Well that's a relief."

"Now who's teasing?"

"Ugh," Lauren sighed, glancing at the clock. "We're so late."

"He'll understand," Bo said as she smoothed a hand across Lauren's back.

"I hope so. The party's-"

"His first since Trick…"

"Yeah," Lauren said, realizing Bo hadn't forgotten.

"We'll make it for the ball drop."

Lauren slinked up Bo's side. She pressed her palm against Bo's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're wel-" Lauren kissed her and Bo sucked in a breath. Her stomach did a somersault and a lump rose in her throat when Lauren pulled away. "Wow."

Lauren chuckled, obviously unaware of her own power over Bo. She sat up, her hair messy, her expression an adorable mix of satisfaction and shyness. "Stop," she said.

From her spot on the bed, Bo watched her dress. Always so meticulous, Lauren laid her ensemble out on the bed before beginning to dress. "We're really late," she urged.

"A succubus has needs," Bo reminded her.

"And we've taken care of them for the time being. Get dressed."

Bo threw her legs over the side of the bed and sighed melodramatically. "You sure are bossy lately." She smirked, egging Lauren on again.

Lauren laughed and pulled on a pair of socks. "You are too much." She shook her head.

"That's usually what people like about me." Bo stood and kissed her on the cheek as she walked past.

Lauren smirked. "No, I'm sure it has more to do with your…" she looked Bo up and down. "Charisma."

Bo put a hand on her hip. "Well they don't call me Bo-dacious for no reason."

Lauren shook her head as she laughed as Bo disappeared into the bathroom. She dressed quickly, leaving Lauren struggling to keep up. She didn't know how Bo did it. Whether it be her succubus genetics or simple experience of getting the hell out of an encounter unscathed, Lauren couldn't say, but one thing was certain: Bo could be ready under the pressure of any deadline. So why were they always late? Bo appeared behind her and kissed her shoulder, sending a shiver through Lauren's body - that was how.

When Bo moved to the suitcases on the bed and started to do them up, Lauren cinched her belt and pulled her top over her head. She sighed audibly. Lauren had started to think and when that happened things got always messy.

Bo moved over to her, taking her hands into hers and kissing away the worry that she found there. "It's going to be fine." She lowered her hands and touched her face "You might even have fun."

She checked her watch. "I need to call the clinic."

"You just talked to the clinic," Bo pointed out. She picked up the luggage and carried them out of the bedroom.

Lauren flicked the light switch and followed Bo. "They're going to expect me tomorrow, I can't just-"

"You can call them from the airport." Bo set the suitcases down at the door and turned to Lauren. She smiled and held her arms out, willing Lauren to take her hands. Lauren stood in the center of the room, eyes searching for something out of place.

"I feel like we're forgetting something."

"Yeah, our responsibilities," Bo replied, taking Lauren's hands in hers, pulling her gently toward the door. "I've got the tickets and the suitcases. All I need is you."

"Do you think I should-" The words registered with Lauren and she dropped her hands to her sides, tilting her head to the side. Lauren smiled as Bo pulled her against her side. "We're gonna miss the ball drop," Lauren whispered.

"You wanted to celebrate."

"I know. It was so terrible, too. You want a do-over?" Her voice was low, sultry.

"This is entrapment." Bo nudged Lauren towards the door. "Out you go." Transferring the luggage to the other side of the threshold, she locked the door and watched Lauren take a deep breath, willing herself onward as they headed to the elevator with their suitcases.

Lauren pressed the button to call the elevator and stood back, trying to judge which elevator door would open for them. She opened her mouth to speak, looking at Bo who looked back at her expectantly. She closed her mouth and turned away.

Bo sighed. "It'll be fine."

Lauren wrung her hands. "What if it's not?"

"What if it is?"

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Lauren looked down the hall to their apartment before stepping into the elevator.

"You coming?" She said, stopping the doors from closing. Smirking, Bo carried the suitcases into the elevator. She punched the Lobby button and the doors closed. A sideways glance told Bo that Lauren was still fretting. She had put her body into the elevator car but her brain was on its way to the clinic. The floors dinged as they passed them by. Eighteen… seventeen… Lauren counted them in her head.

"Hey," Bo said quietly.

Lauren looked up just as the lights dimmed and the car jerked violently, sending her into Bo. The succubus stumbled backwards, flattening against the wall with a grunt. The emergency lights flickered to life, a definite absence of movement, and an eerie silence hushed the women.

"Shit."

They hung suspended fifteen floors above ground, stopped in mid-air. The elevator's emergency lights were dim, but they cast a warm glow as they reflected off the steel panels in the corners of the car. For Lauren, this wasn't more than a poorly timed inconvenience, though the relief of potentially missing their flight hovered in the background.

Bo rubbed her forehead. "This is not happening." She reached into her boot for her phone. "No signal," she growled.

"I'll just call for help." Lauren took a step toward the console and removed the emergency phone. She craned her neck into the receiver to listen as it began to ring. And ring. And ring. She sighed.

"You were saying."

She hung up the phone. "They're probably just on a coffee break."

"Oh, well, in that case…" Bo folded her arms and sat back on the luggage.

Lauren frowned. "What is going on with you?"

Bo looked at the shallow ceiling and shook her head. She took a breath. "Nothing." Her eyes darted from wall to wall to wall and back again.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Her tone wasn't one of mocking insincerity, but of serious concern.

Bo shrugged. "Maybe a little."

Lauren narrowed her eyes, already halfway through assessing the situation's several endings. "How little?"

Bo considered her answer. "On a scale of one to ten, I'm feeling like Saruman on Orthanc."

Lauren started to speak,but stopped short. "What did you just say?"

"Saruman and Orthanc." Bo looked around the elevator for the tenth time. "I did pay attention during Tolkien Tuesday."

Lauren smiled and sighed. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I wish."

Lauren pushed Bo's shoulder playfully, finding herself quickly lost in Bo's shy smile. She blinked then, shaking her head, embarrassed. "Right. Extraction." She lifted the receiver again and the line began to ring. It continued to ring over and over again until Lauren hung up five minutes later.

"The sooner I'm out of this stainless steel coffin and laying on a beach in Bali, the better." Bo laid the suitcases on their sides in the corner of the elevator like a couch and sat at one end, patting the spot beside her.

"I have to try again." She lifted the receiver and waited as it rang and rang once again. After another minute she shrugged with a sigh and dropped the receiver. In the small room they could still hear it ringing as she sat on the other suitcase and leaned into Bo. "We're going to miss the ball drop."

Bo sighed. "Dyson isn't going to be very understanding."

"Well it's not like we planned to be stuck in an elevator with negligent emergency staffing on New Year's Eve."

"You didn't?" Bo asked incredulously. "Because actually I wished for this before I blew out the candles on my last birthday cake."

"Bo…" Lauren closed her eyes as Bo got to her feet.

She pulled her phone from her boot again and checked for a signal. No bars. "What if they forget us in here?" she said, looking around the elevator's perimeter again.

"They're not going to forget us in here."

"You don't know that." Bo touched the control panel as if she could will it back to life.

"Bo, it's a statistical improbability that a building with only two elevators would not notice when one of the elevators wasn't working."

"Yeah, I understood approximately three percent of that sentence."

Lauren frowned and looked up at Bo. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

Bo shrugged. "A little, I guess."

"I'm trying to be the voice of reason, here."

Bo put her hands on her hips. "And who's being unreasonable?"

Lauren groaned and looked at the ceiling. "You know what I mean."

"No, what do you mean?" Bo pushed.

"What do I mean? I mean you have been pushing my buttons for months. Why?"

"Just waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess," she said, examining the elevator's seams.

Lauren shook her head, completely at a loss. "What other shoe?"

"C'mon, Lauren. Can you honestly sit there and tell me you don't know?" At Lauren's silence, Bo continued. "Let me clear it up for you. I'm scared you're going to leave me again the next time I put the toilet paper on the wrong way, so I do things like pretend to sleep through your favorite movies, sit on the counter, and leave my coat on the back of the couch because I'm testing you. To see if today's the day when I'm too much for you again."

Lauren's expression was pained. Causing that much hurt was contradictory to everything she had spent her life learning, but there wasn't anything she could defend. "Bo… It was never about you."

"Well, it sure felt like it."

"I'm so sorry." Lauren stood up and moved to Bo. "I know more assurances from me probably won't help to ease your fears but, Bo Dennis, I'm never gonna hurt you again."

Bo had gotten soft because with six simple words Lauren had blown down her house and stolen her heart again. No matter how many times Lauren stormed the castle Bo was surprised that she even tried. It wasn't fair but Bo was working through some things. So when Lauren kissed her with enough emotion for the both of them, Bo didn't resist. No, she melted into it. She was lost.

" _Hello? Hello?"_

Lauren broke away and scrambled with the receiver. "Hello, hello, we're here," she said in a giant whoosh of air. "There's two of us and we're stuck between the fifteenth and sixteenth floors." She nodded and sighed. "Okay." She replaced the receiver again and turned to Bo. "They said to sit tight."

Bo rolled her eyes and started pacing again. "Well, what else are we going to do?" Lauren watched her move smoothly, but uneasily, from corner to corner. She stopped in the middle of the elevator care and looked up at the ceiling. "Do you think you could lift me up?"

"No," Lauren said immediately.

"No, you can't or no, you won't?"

"Both."

Bo scoffed. "There you go being reasonable again." She put her hands on her hips and walked around in a circle. "Did they say how long it would take to get us out?"

Lauren shook her head. "No."

"We're gonna miss our plane," she grumped. "Why do I even bother?"

Lauren cleared her throat and stepped over to their luggage that lay along one side of the elevator. "Come sit, Bo," she said, adjusting the buckles underneath her.

Bo sighed. "Is that your nice way of saying 'calm down, Bo?'"

"Yes." Lauren patted the suitcase next to her. "Now come sit down."

Bo dropped onto her suitcase with a huff. Her heart thumped in her chest. She hated being confined, dangling above a mess of metal and concrete. She hated it when things didn't go as planned, too, but more than that, she hated it when it was out of her control. "I got us into this resort," she said. "It had a private pool and a view of the beach. Five stars." Lauren hummed and pulled her knees up, resting her chin on her outstretched arm. "It wasn't the best beach view, but it was close enough to catch a bus to some historical sites. I thought you'd like that."

Lauren's eyes squinted as she smiled, wider truly than she'd thought. Any time spent with Bo would have been taken greedily, regardless of where she had to do it. But to have her interests considered even though she knew Bo would be bored out of her mind made her chest tighten. "I would have loved it," she replied, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry, Lauren." Bo looked at her hands.

"For what?"

"For being a shithead."

Lauren chuckled. "You're forgiven."

"I just wanted _one_ thing to go well for us. Without meddling Fae, or Garuda, or… family." Bo smiled unconvincingly. "I wanted to do something nice for you. For us."

"This is…" Lauren looked up as if the right word was on the ceiling.

"Shitty," Bo finished for her. "What this is, is shitty."

"Well, I don't know," Lauren said, looking around the elevator. "We've got some time to ourselves in a… cozy little spot." Lauren stretched out her legs and turned to Bo, her eyes surveying her body.

"Lauren..." Bo smirked as she felt the heat of her gaze and tried to ignore the intensity of her aura.

Lauren leaned in and kissed Bo's shoulder, then her neck. "They won't be here for at least an hour." Again under her earlobe. "Tell me what else you had planned."

Bo hummed, her eyes closing. Lauren was an expert in everything she tried, including seducing a succubus, but she excelled at healing the sick… the wounded… the starved. "I, uh, wanted to lie on the beach with you. Maybe… rent a jet ski or something."

Lauren chuckled and straddled Bo's lap, her lips finding the sweet spot at her throat. "A jet ski?"

"I dunno, Lauren," Bo breathed, her hands coming to Lauren's waist. "It's getting hard to think." Remarkably, though, she did start to calm.

"I just thought," Lauren kissed Bo's chest where the neckline dipped. "Maybe we'd make love on the beach." She felt Bo's hands flex. "Maybe in the moonlight."

Bo groaned. "You're just doing this to distract me."

"Maybe." Lauren kissed her, slowly and deliberately, stoking the fire inside her. She lowered herself onto Bo's lap and hummed. "Is it working?" she whispered into Bo's ear. "How do you feel?"

Bo breathed in deep. "Hungry," she exhaled and Lauren smirked, kissing her briefly. Bo's hands raced up and down Lauren's sides to her thighs. "There's a camera," she said, her eyes pointing at it in the corner.

"Bo Dennis," Lauren said sternly, laced with the arousal she felt. Their eyes locked. "Are you turning me down right now?"

The flash of blue in her eyes made Lauren smirk and Bo grinned, both at her own inability to hide her desire for her, but also because Lauren was damned irresistible when she was cocky. She leaned away from the elevator wall and wrapped her arms around Lauren, looking up at her. "I could never," she said, her hands moving across Lauren's back. The energy was alive in her, almost electric as Bo's touch lightened as it moved back to Lauren's hips. When Lauren's eyes closed, Bo leaned up and kissed her. The return was tenfold. Lauren held Bo's face in her hands as they kissed and Bo squeezed her, unable to stop her hands from roaming, powerless against the hold Lauren had over her.

"I, uh," Bo breathed as Lauren's attention moved to her jaw, her ear, her throat. "What… what about the camera?"

Lauren made a humming sound and pulled away from Bo, her voice was smooth, honeyed. Bo's stomach flipped as she watched her lips curl and her tongue taste her lips. "It's New Year's," she said simply. "And if their hotline is any indication, the camera probably doesn't work."

That flash of blue again. "That's enough for me," Bo replied, wrapping an arm tightly around Lauren's waist. With a slight shift of their weight, Bo pulled off a reversal that would make an Olympic wrestler jealous. Lauren chuckled as she shifted on the suitcases, reaching for Bo when she settled between her legs. She saw the words in Lauren's eyes before she spoke them and hushed her quickly with her mouth. Her need was so overpowering, Bo hadn't realized her fingers gripping the edges of Lauren's buttoned shirt. She tore the shirt open, buttons ricocheting off the metal and wood paneling of the elevator and leaned forward, kissing her way to Lauren's breasts.

Lauren groaned, reaching between them to undo the button of Bo's impossibly tight jeans and then freed her own. She reached for Bo's sweater, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside, their mouths clashing again. Lauren always had a hard time expressing herself in words. If she was Fae, shy awkwardness would be one of her powers. But put her with Bo and she didn't need words. Lauren's fingers wrapped around the belt loops in Bo's jeans and pulled their hips together. Bo chuckled into their kiss, low and promising, and started to move against her.

For a moment, they were gone, location and circumstance forgotten; that sensation that set her blood on fire. Lauren lifted her hips into Bo's, the fabric between them creating a torturous slow burn that Bo was determined to set ablaze. She couldn't get enough of Lauren, in any capacity, so when she lifted Bo's chin to look at her, Bo couldn't help herself from kissing her again, drowning them both in her arousal.

Lauren hummed into their kiss, her hands sliding into the back of Bo's jeans, holding on to her undulating hips. The squeaking of their luggage counted their movements, punctuated by their voices that echoed off the elevator walls. Lauren pulled a hand from Bo's jeans and tapped her hip gently. Bo pulled away from their kiss, her eyes blazing blue that she blinked away, wordlessly shifting her position until she straddled Lauren's thigh. The sensation between her legs stole her breath. And it was as addictive a substance as something off the street, feeding and creating a need at the same time.

The plaintive whimper in Lauren's ear sent the message loud and clear. She bent her knee, pushing herself against Bo, relishing the hot grind against her. Bo shifted on the suitcase too, pushing against Lauren who arched into her. They moved with each other, each thrust more insistent than the last. Lauren's fingers dug into Bo's ass, feeling the succubus vibrate with anticipation. Then the entrancing groan from Bo fell silent, her breath came in gasps as she moved over Lauren. Lauren held her close, riding Bo's hips as she moved, her own release creeping up behind it all. With a soft cry, Bo grabbed the handrail that ran around the elevator to brace herself against the all-out assault on her senses. In two quick thrusts she was there, pressing Lauren into their perfectly packed baggage, her knuckles whitening on the railing as her body tensed.

The timbre of Bo's release triggered Lauren, who clutched at Bo's hips as she came, a quiet revolution pressed into the succubus' skin. Bo watched Lauren recover as she caught her breath, brushing the hair from her face.

"Happy New Year," Bo said softly.

"Is it?" Lauren looked around as if she could find a clock to answer her question.

"Might as well be."

Lauren smirked at the grin on Bo's face and pulled her down, drenching her in a kiss that could melt a glacier. Bo rested her elbows on either side of Lauren's head, falling into the overflowing arousal that always seemed to follow them. She was so lost in the revelry of it, she hadn't heard the ring of the elevator phone.

"Bo," Lauren breathed when she was able to pull away. Bo groaned in frustration and backed off Lauren, who scrambled out from under her to pick up the receiver on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

Bo sat on the luggage and glanced at Lauren while she reached for her sweater. She watched Lauren's face as she listened: brow furrowed, hand on her head, processing. If she weren't corded to the panel, Lauren would be nervously pacing. Bo pulled her sweater over her head and leaned back, extending her legs and crossing her ankles.

"Okay, thanks," Lauren said before hanging up the receiver. She took three steps, spun around and dropped onto the suitcases beside Bo. "They're working on it. Might be an hour, or six."

"What? Is this what your condo dues pays for?" Bo was indignant. She had planned this wonderful thing for Lauren who was never really on the receiving end of wonderful things and now they were going to miss their plane, lose their resort reservations, no sunbathing or making love in the moonlight on white sand beaches, not even a damn jet ski. Everything Bo Dennis touched turned into chaos. This was just another shitty outcome in a long line of shitty outcomes and quite frankly, Bo was exhausted from trying to stay one step ahead of her bad luck.

It wasn't often that Bo had sex with Lauren and she wound up feeling like someone sucker punched her heart, but this time certainly ranked up there.

"Hey," Lauren said, leaning into Bo. "We're gonna get out of here soon."

Bo wasn't freaked out about the little metal box they were currently trapped inside anymore, she was furious that this had happened to them _again_. "I guess," she sighed. "They may as well leave us in here till sunup for all it matters now."

"You're awfully grumpy for a succubus that just had a snack," Lauren purred, touching Bo's arm flirtatiously.

Bo stood abruptly. "No. You know what? No." Her expression was serious, her tone tempestuous.

Lauren sat up straight and looked up at her apologetically. "Sorry, it was just a joke."

"I'm not going to take this one lying down, Lauren." She paced again, but this time there was a fire behind it. "When we get out of here, we're going to the airport and we're getting on the first plane out of here. I don't care where it's going."

Lauren clambered to her feet, her smile radiating in the darkness of the elevator car. She was empowered by Bo's transformation and her spirit's renewal. She felt safest with Bo, there was no question and truly, these days there wasn't anyone else she wanted to spend her time with. She dusted her hands off on her pants and stepping up to Bo, she placed her hands on either cheek and held her face. "I'm in." The lights flickered and the car grunted to life as they began to descend. "Thank God," Lauren sighed.

Bo looked up at the ceiling grid and smiled, enveloping Lauren in her arms. "You ready for an adventure?" The elevator dinged as each floor passed, counting them down to the bottom.

Lauren leaned into Bo and rested her head on her shoulder, relaxing in her arms. "Every day with you is an adventure."

"So, no?"

Lauren let out a sudden laugh. She looked down at her open shirt. "What are we gonna do about this?"

Bo grinned, taking the bottom of each side of her shirt and tied them in a knot. "There is no wardrobe malfunction I can't fix."

"My hero."

The elevator dinged one last time and the doors opened at last.

"Are you alright?" The building manager exclaimed as they stepped off the elevator.

"We're fine," Lauren managed to say before blowing through the lobby with Bo-set on a collision course with something resembling a dream vacation. When they stepped outside, Lauren put a hand on Bo's arm to slow her down. Bo dropped the suitcases and looked up at the sky, watching as it turned from indigo to coral. The air was cool and refreshing and Lauren and Bo were breathing it in greedily after the stale and smothering air of the elevator.

Bo's keys jangled in her hand and she looked at Lauren. "Ready?"

Lauren looked down at their suitcases. She'd never done this before. Leaving on a moment's notice to destinations unknown when she was supposed to be at work, any other day, she would be losing her mind with worry. But this time… Lauren took a deep breath. "I am." It was a huge leap of faith but they were together and that was all she needed to have a good time no matter where they ended up.

With a nod of her head, Bo picked up the suitcases and loaded them into the trunk of the Camaro. Lauren was getting situated in the passenger seat when Bo slid into the bucket seat beside her. She turned the key ignition and the beast roared to life. Bo smiled at Lauren and accelerated aggressively through the abandoned streets. "Here we go, off into the wild blue yonder."

They were in uncharted territory. A vacation for two should be easy. Especially after pledging herself to Bo, Lauren thought. This wasn't a test of _them_ this was a test of Lauren's mettle. Jumping on a plane to parts unknown with no notice was something Bo would do on her own, but now it was something they were going to do together. Today. The sky was brighter now, the sun starting to poke through the fuchsia-tinged clouds and as night began to recede, so did her fears. They were together and in love and tonight they could be walking hand in hand in Hawaii or the Bahamas. Bo slipped on a pair of sunglasses, turning to smile at her as they drove on. It didn't matter where they ended up; they were together.

They parked in long-term parking and hoofed it the half-mile across the lot back to the airport shuttle. Bo worked out the tickets while Lauren called the clinic. She didn't even care that Bo asked for her credit card while she was on the phone. She juggled her bag and phone squeezed between her ear and shoulder as she passed the card to Bo when her plan to get them on a new flight wasn't as simple as she thought. And in a real turn of events, Bo had been right about the clinic: they would get by without her for a few days.

And as they sat together on the airplane, taxiing the runway, heading for a new tropical destination, relief poured off Lauren in waves. Bo rifled through the magazines in the back of the seat as Lauren pretended to read the first of many in a backlog of medical journals. In this quiet comfortable humming silence of travel, Bo's hand found hers. Carefree was not how she was wired but they both jumped headlong into the adventure. Bo was gung ho to get on any airplane but Lauren reined her in. Spinning the globe and facing uncertainty had scared the hell out of Lauren but she didn't care anymore because Bo had taken over, and overcome her worries in the process. Lauren never thought she'd like her lover to make decisions for her but in this case it allowed her brain to take a vacation too.

The airplane began to accelerate and Lauren gave herself over to the idea of destiny. The plane would take them there safely or it wouldn't and no amount of worrying was going to change either outcome. She put her head back against the headrest, feeling her body being pushed into the seat from the force of take squeezed her hand and when their eyes met, she smiled at Lauren. And it was a smile that assuaged her fears. Her heart swelled in her chest, the runway lights speeding by as Bo leaned over her lap to look out the window. The plane bounced with a bottomless lift off, Bo turned her head and kissed Lauren.

"Happy New Year."

* * *

Fin.


End file.
